STEM Camps - Mindframe Education

STEM Summer Camps

Your camper will love:

Learning foundational STEM concepts
Personalized instruction and pace
Our experienced and caring teachers
Hands-on projects to present to family and friends
Indoor and outdoor activities, challenges and social time

At Mindframe summer camps, students learn how to think and work like real engineers, scientists, creative designers, and developers.

Summer Camps

Voted Best Summer Camp !

Northern Virginia Magazine 2022

Parent Testimonials

“

This is the second year that my son attended one of the camps and he is always excited about this place.
They employ great instructors & the environment is very stimulating. I recommend this place for anyone looking for quality STEM education for their kids.

Abijeet

“

My daughter just finished raspberry pi computer engineering camp. She built two working games that she devised and programmed herself. I haven’t seen her this happy or mentally satisfied in a long time!

Amanda

Gr 1 - 3 Summer Camps

For rising grades 1-3 onsite camps are available at Ashburn, Herndon, and Gaithersburg.

Gr 4 - 6 Summer Camps

For rising grades 4-6, summer camps are available at Ashburn, Herndon, and Gaithersburg.

Summer Locations

Ashburn VA

Herndon VA

St. Joseph School
750 Peachtree St.
Herndon, VA 20170

Gaithersburg MD

Covenant Life School
7503 Muncaster Mill Rd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Camp Prices

Camp Tuition (weekly)

Full Day – $375
Half Day – $255
Flex Day / Drop In – $85 / day

Camp Hours

Full Day: 8:30am – 4:00pm
AM Half Day: 8:30am – 12:00pm
PM Half Day: 12:30am – 4:00pm
After Care: 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Flex Days – Need a camp only on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Or just Mondays? Our flex-day option allows you to pick the summer camp days you would like your children to attend.

STEM Summer Camps

Coming Soon!

Grades 1 - 3 (rising) -

Ages 6 - 9

Gr 1-3 Camp Themes

LEGO Engineering

Students will take their LEGO building skills to a whole new level! Learn the process of designing, building, and pairing models with technology to make everyday tasks easier. Create moving machines and participate in engineering challenges!

Inventors and Engineers

Students will explore the world of engineering and put their skills to work as they invent tools never seen before! Combining imagination and design, students will learn to turn their ideas into reality. Participate in fun projects while learning teamwork and problem solving skills!

Ocean Explorers

Students will take a deep dive into the different parts of the ocean exploring everything from the fish that swim in it to its various levels. We will take a closer look at oceanic habitats including lakes, rivers, oceans, and wells. Learn how life is deep under the sea!

Animal Kingdom

Students will explore the animal kingdom and its beWILDering diversity! Learn about creatures in various animal groups, including mammals, fish, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Discover what animals eat and how they survive while taking a trip outdoors to see what animals you may find!

All Things Science

Students will explore a variety of sciences, participate in experiments, and learn about science through hands-on projects. With the entire realm of science at our fingertips, we will explore where and how science exists in our everyday lives! From the tiny microorganisms roaming around on our hands to the chemistry involved in baking a cake, get ready to discover ALL things science!

Digital Arts & Stop Motion Animation

Students use their curiosity and creativity as they create their own characters, props, and sets for their stop motion animation.

Artists Workshop

Students will engage in enriching art activities that introduce them to the world of STEAM. Students learn to problem solve and collaborate to create works of art they are proud of!

Character Creation & Illustration

Students learn the fundamentals of character design as they explore an artist's use of imagination to communicate characteristics, traits, and physical features. Students will learn the methods to convey emotion and feelings through color and shape as they bring their characters to life through animations.

Creative Writing: Storybook Creation

Make your imagination come to life! Students will learn to take the fire breathing dragons and rainbow unicorns that wander their minds and turn them into characters of a real life story book. Get ready to learn the basics of writing and story elements while having fun!

Jr. Coding & Robotics

Students will their engineering skills to build and bring their very own robots to life! Learn to code as you use your creations to move objects to and from space stations on the moon, complete mazes, and score goals in a soccer tournament!

Jr. Game Design & Coding

Students will learn the fundamentals of coding to create games using CodeSpark and Minecraft Education. Students will work on creating levels, developing story design, and coding. By the end of this camp, students will love watching their creative ideas come to life!

Journey Into Space

Students learn about the challenges of living in space and how astronauts overcome them. Discuss the science behind rockets and explore the planets in our galaxy. Participate in astronaut training, building rockets, completing planet drawings and moon phase diagrams, and designing your very own constellation!

Intrepid Detectives

Get ready to put your sleuthing skills to the test! Explore what it means to be a detective and see what it takes to be a secret agent. Learn to decipher messages, crack codes and make your own invisible ink! Use your detective skills to examine a model crime scene and search for evidence. Perform experiments, lift fingerprints, create impressions, use logic and critical thinking skills to distinguish identities of different objects with a microscope.

Summer 2023 - Gr 1-3 Camps - Coming Soon!

Gr 1-3 camps include two STEM themes. First theme is AM session (9a-12p) and second theme is PM session (1p-4p).

Grades 4 - 6 (rising) - Summer Camps

Ages 9 - 12

Science

Forensic Science & Genetic Analysis

Students will discover the basis of all hereditary information as they dive into DNA and its use in the genetic makeup of almost all living things. With great diversity in genes amongst humans, learn to use key differences, including fingerprints, to participate in the analysis of evidence in various crime scene investigations.

Earth Science

Students will dive into the earth’s core as they discover the origin of different rocks and minerals, the plate tectonics, and the formation of earth’s geographic features including mountains and lakes. Rock the world of science as you simulate weather patterns and create a plan to give back to the planet by reducing your carbon footprint and preventing climate change!

Rocket Science & Physics of Flight

Blast off into outer space with your very own, personal rocket. Create rockets using a wide range materials and learning to measure trajectory angles. Learn about Newton’s Laws of Motion and the various forces acting upon rockets, airplanes, and even birds as they soar through the sky.

Game Design

Minecraft Modding & Coding

Students learn to design and code mods for Minecraft using Learn to Mod and Minecraft Education. They will gain an understanding of fundamentals of Javascript programming while creating their own fun, creative Minecraft mods and textures.

Roblox Game Design

In this camp, students will use Roblox’s built-in editor to design and create their own 3D worlds. Students will learn 3D game design fundamentals, create and publish their games to Roblox website.

2D Game Design with Flowlab

Students learn the fundamentals of 2D game design and how to design and create 2D sprite-art game using FlowLab and GameMaker. Students create a 2D world, characters, and art assets and utilize them to create a fun, interactive 2D game.

Communication

Creative Writing

Creative writing and presenting is a skill that all students should have. In this camp, students will learn how to capture any audience and win them over through their creative writing and presentation skills. We’ve got the secrets and the students have the ideas. Put them together and the students will learn to love the art of creative writing and public speaking.

Debate Camp

Learn the art of winning any argument that comes your way with evidence and rationale. The secrets behind persuasive writing, public speaking, and presentation all in one. This fun class is an opportunity to participate in research and public speaking, while strengthening critical thinking and teamwork skills!

Coding & Robotics

Scratch Coding & EV3 Robotics

Students learn the basics of programming using Scratch. Students will learn how to use variables, lops, conditional statements, boolean logic and how to incorporate physical world’s elements into their Scratch projects. Students will also learn how to build and program LEGO EV3 robots by working in teams to complete robot missions.

Python Programming

Students learn core programming concepts using Python. Students will learn basic syntax, structure, and process of writing programs in Python. Students will work on real world projects.

Computer Engineering with Raspberry Pi

This course teaches students core concepts in computer science and shows them how to create simple, practical applications and scripts using Python. By the end of this camp, students will be familiar with Raspberry Pi, a single board computer designed for educational use. They’ll also understand the inner-workings of computer engineering and how to use code to interface with hardware devices.

Digital Arts

Movie Masters: Video Production

Students will learn the processes of making a film and learn about each part of the creative process: pre-production, production, and post production. Students will work as a team to create their own original short film or video. By the end of this course, students will have an understanding of the creative process for movie making and will premiere their very own production.

3D Modeling & Printing

Students will make their own 3D creations with clay then create it digitally. Students will learn how to create 3D objects and structures. They will gain an understanding of TinkerCAD and Blender, and SketchUp. At the end of this course, students will take home their very own 3D printed creations and a valuable 21st century skill.

Digital Music Production

Using professional software and equipment, students will be able to learn the basics to creating and recording tracks to make their own song.

YouTube Video Making

Students will learn how to create original videos and their own channel; Adobe Suite, from Photoshop and Animate to Premiere

Digital Illustration & Character Design

Students will learn the process of creating characters based on client briefs for different types of stories. Students will learn different character styles (American comic book, Japanese Manga, American cartoon style, etc.) to understand how culture affects character design. By the end of this course, students will have an understanding of the process of following a client brief and creating designs based off of them, and have set of original characters.

Gr 4-6 Camps

Sample Day at Camp

Morning

8:30am–9:00am: Drop off
9:00am–9:15am: Full Day & AM Half Day student check-in
9:15am: Course instruction & project work; let the STEM fun begin!
10:30am: Break & snack time
12:00pm: Lunch; AM Half Day student pick up

Afternoon

12:00pm-1:00pm: PM Half Day student check-in
1:00pm: Course instruction & project work
2:30pm: Break & snack time
3:00pm: Course instruction & project work
4:00pm: Full Day & PM Half Day student pick up
4:15pm: PM Extended Care
4:15pm-5:00pm: Academic Tutoring
6:00pm: Extended care student pick up

Covid Safety Precautions

To ensure the safety of our students and staff, we follow these safety precautions for onsite camps:

Social distancing during student drop-off & pickup (parents will queue outside and one family will be allowed in at a time)
Grouping students in small sections of no more than 8 students
Regular cleaning of high-touch surface areas
Students will separated during class and have their own supplies, computers, etc
Regular hand washing breaks
Wearing protective coverings

Online Summer Camps and Tutoring Available

For Summer 2021, Mindframe will offer online camps and private tutoring options.

Online camps will use a “follow-the-leader” method of teaching using everyday household items such as Legos. Computer-based programs such as TinkerCAD, Minecraft, Scratch, Python will also be offered and taught by our staff.

You can customize a summer program that works best for you. Select any option – onsite camps, online camps, classes, or private 1:1 tutoring. Contact us to learn more about our summer learning options.

FAQs

How can I add PM extended care (4p-6p) ?

Yes, you can add extended care for the entire week or for a single day. Send us an email with the request, and we will add it to your order.

How change or cancel my student’s summer camp ?

All changes to summer camp orders must be done via email. There is no charge for changing summer camps for same price. Just let us know via email about the change, and we will take care of it. There is a $95 non-refundable fee for each cancelled camp. There are no refunds for summer camps after June 1st. Store credit is provided for cancelled camps less $95 fee.

How does tutoring work during summer camp day?

Private tutoring sessions are available as an add-on option for any summer camp day. Tutoring sessions are conducted between 4:00pm – 5:00pm. Session options are discounted for summer camp students – 30 mins ($25), 45 mins ($35), 60 mins ($45).